Michigan crushes Illinois to clinch outright Big Ten title

CHAMPAIGN -- Michigan clinched its first Big Ten regular-season championship since 1986 by delivering an 84-53 shellacking to Illinois on Tuesday night. And in a season full of painful Illini losses this was one of the most embarrassing.

CHAMPAIGN — Four Michigan players walked into the postgame press conference carrying the Big Ten championship trophy they were awarded moments earlier. The trophy sat on the table for all to see as they smiled and answered questions about their latest triumph.

The Wolverines clinched their first Big Ten regular-season championship since 1986 by delivering an 84-53 shellacking to Illinois on Tuesday night.

And in a season full of painful Illini losses this was one of the most embarrassing. The 31-point defeat was Illinois' worst at State Farm Center in the 51-year history of the building formerly known as Assembly Hall.

Buried by 3s

To do it, the Wolverines (22-7 overall, 14-3 in the Big Ten) buried 16 of 23 from beyond the arc, tying a record by opposing teams here against Illinois (17-13, 6-11).

“I haven't seen that in practice, even,” Michigan coach John Beilein said.

Illini coach John Groce added: “It's a lot more fun when you're on the positive side of the perfect storm.”

Nik Stauskas continued to solidify himself as the Big Ten player of the year scoring a game-high 24 points, knocking down 7 of 9 from 3-point range.

While the Orange Krush chided him with chants of “USA,” Stauskas — who is Canadian — knocked down a 3-pointer just before halftime and turned around to stare them down.

“You can't give him any space,” said Illini guard Rayvonte Rice, who finished with a team-high 16 points. “Just a little space, he's going to knock down the shot.”

Kendrick Nunn was solid again with 14 points, but this loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Illini that had brought them back to a place of semi-relevance in the conference.

Coming into the game Illinois had held four consecutive opponents under 50 points for the first time since the 1947 Big Ten season. Michigan scored 52 points in the first half. The Wolverines shot 67.9 percent from the floor and made 11 of their 14 3-point attempts in the first half.

Six Michigan players made at least one three pointer including Glenn Robinson III — just his second since Feb. 5. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Robinson III had 13.

“Lately we've been playing great defense,” Rice said. “They were just knocking down every open shot they got.”

This was the final home game for seniors Joseph Bertrand and Jon Ekey, who were honored at center court before the game. Although this was Ekey's first and only season here, he was honored for how quickly the team embraced him. He scored four points on 2 of 6 shooting and grabbed three rebounds.

Bertrand is a fifth-year senior, closing out his tenure with a plethora of highs and lows. All day on Twitter, his friend and former Illini guard Brandon Paul shared his favorite humorous stories about Bertrand's antics, dubbed with the hashtag #JoeTales.

Page 2 of 2 - Bertrand's night did not end up as special as he would have hoped. His knee collided with a Wolverines player in the first half and he never returned to the floor. Bertrand played just 10 minutes and went 1 of 3 from the floor to finish with two points as he watched the second half with his knee in bandages.

The Illini were also without backup point guard Jaylon Tate, who suffered an ankle injury late in the game against Michigan State on Saturday.

That meant sophomore walk-on Mike LaTulip made his first appearance since Jan. 8 against Wisconsin, and that was with the Illini already facing an insurmountable deficit late in the game.

If the Illini win a game in the Big Ten tournament they will likely meet Michigan again. The thought of that rematch excites Groce, even as the only logical way for his team to reach the NCAA tournament would be to earn an automatic bid by winning the Big Ten tournament.

“I love challenges,” he said. “That's part of our culture. That's who we are.”